The "Barbara Walters Special" on "20/20," Featuring an Interview with Jenny Sanford, Produces the Newsmagazine's Largest Overall Audience in Nearly 1 Year

WEEK No. 20:

During the week of February 1, 2010, although facing the Super Bowl with repeat programming pre-empting its regular Sunday lineup, ABC pulled in its 2nd-highest Total Viewer (7.0 million) and Adult 18-49 (2.5/7) numbers since November � trailing only the week of the BCS Championship game at the beginning of January, best since w/o 11/30/09 and w/o 11/16/09, respectively.

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 35% currently, from 29% at the same point in 2009. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen.

Monday

ABC finished second on the night to Fox with originals of "House" and "24" in Adults 18-34 (3.2/9). ABC won Monday among Women 18-34 (5.0/13) and Women 18-49 (5.2/13), standing as the top network on the night for the 5th straight week among the key Women demos.

� For the 3rd week in a row, ABC increased its overall audience from the year-ago night, gaining 9% year to year (10.5 million vs. 9.6 million on 2/2/09).

"The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love" (8:00-10:00 p.m.)

From 8:00-10:00 p.m., ABC's "The Bachelor" earned second place in viewers and young adults to CBS' original comedy block, beating Fox's original dramas ("House"/"24") in Total Viewers (11.73 million vs. 11.67 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.1/10 vs. 4.0/10). The ABC unscripted series won its 2-hour time period for the 3rd straight week among Adults 18-34, beating runner-up Fox by 11% (4.0/11 vs. 3.6/10). For its 5th straight telecast, "The Bachelor" towered over its time slot and registered as Monday's No. 1 TV show with Women 18-34 (6.3/16).

� "The Bachelor" built to another season-high, marking its 4th consecutive week of growth in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49.

� Bucking the general trend for many unscripted shows, "The Bachelor" attracts a highly desirable upscale audience. "The Bachelor" places among the Top 10 highest-rated television series this season in Nielsen's top income break: Adults 18-49 in homes with $100K+ annual income (No. 8). In fact, ranked against all unscripted TV series this season, "The Bachelor" (6.2 rating) paces behind only Fox's "American Idol," and by wide margins outperforms CBS' "Amazing Race" (+17% - 5.3) and "Survivor" (+17% - 5.3) and NBC's "Biggest Loser 8" (+24% - 5.0) and "Biggest Loser 9" (+24% - 5.0). Based on its Index (160), or concentration of high-income viewers in its audience, "The Bachelor" stands as the No. 1 unscripted series on the major broadcasts networks this season. For perspective, "American Idol-Tuesday" reports an index of 118 and "American Idol-Wednesday" is at 120.

"Castle" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's repeat "Castle" took second place in the 10 o'clock hour to CBS' original "CSI: Miami," beating out NBC's original "Jay Leno" by 4.2 million viewers (8.0 million vs. 3.8 million) and by 100% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/6 vs. 1.1/3).

� The replay "Castle" improved ABC's performance in the hour over the same night last year with original programming by 1.2 viewers (8.0 million vs. 6.8 million).

With a "Lost" recap special at 8:00 p.m. and the 6th-season opener of "Lost" at 9:00 p.m., ABC (5.1/13) earned a strong second place on Tuesday to an "American Idol"-boosted Fox among Adults 18-49, beating out third-place CBS by 46% (3.5/9) and fourth-place NBC by 70% (3.0/8). ABC won the night by a wide margin among Men 18-34, beating out an "Idol"-driven Fox by 19% (5.0/15 vs. 4.2/13).

� ABC marked its strongest Tuesday with non-sports programming in more than 2 years in Adults 18-49 and in more than 9 years with Adults 18-34 � since 11/27/07 and 1/9/01, respectively.

"Lost: Final Chapter" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Opposite Fox's "American Idol" and CBS' top-rated "NCIS," ABC's "Lost: Final Chapter" recap special drew 10.0 million viewers and a 4.1 rating, 11 share in Adults 18-49, offering a strong lead-in to the show's season opener. The clip show took second place to "Idol" in the hour, beating "NCIS" with Adults 18-34 and key Men (M18-34/M18-49).

� Across the key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54), the special generated ABC's 2nd-highest numbers in the hour this season.

"Lost" (9:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Lost" opened up its 6th season on a new night against stiff original competition (CBS' "NCIS: LA"/NBC's "Biggest Loser"/Fox's "Idol"-fueled "Kitchen Nightmares") with a definitive Adult 18-49 victory, beating out its nearest 9:00-11:00 p.m. competitor by 49% (5.5/14 vs. 3.7/9 � NBC's "Biggest Loser"). "Lost" dominated all 4 of its half-hours in the key young adult sales demo. In a good sign for future viewing, the drama held steady with a 14 audience share through its first 3 half-hours, and then grew to a 15 share in its final half-hour.

� "Lost" was up from its year-ago season opener (on Wednesday, 1/21/09) by 6% in Total Viewers (12.1 million vs. 11.4 million), by 10% in Adults 18-49 (5.5/14 vs. 5.0/12) and by 20% in Adults 18-34 (5.5/15 vs. 4.6/13). The "Lost" premiere produced the series' highest-rated telecast with Adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34 in nearly 2 years � since 2/21/08 and 2/7/08, respectively.

� The 6th-year ABC drama premiere generated the Net's top series numbers in the 2-hour time period since November 2007 with Adults 18-49 and since May 2000 with Adults 18-34 � since 11/27/07 and 5/2/00, respectively.

Please Note: One of the most recorded and played back shows on TV, on average last season in originals "Lost" saw its overall audience grow by 1.8 million viewers and jump 23% in Adults 18-49 (+1.0 rating point) from its first-reported Live + Same Day and finalized Live + 7 Day numbers.

Wednesday

"Modern Family-WED 8PM" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

ABC's repeat airing of "Modern Family" placed as the No. 1 series telecast at 8:00 p.m. in Adults 18-49 (2.4/7), beating Fox's original time-period premiere of "Human Target" by 4% (2.3/7) and beating NBC's original "Mercy" by 60% (1.5/5).

Building on its lead-in at 8:30 p.m. (+13%), ABC's "The Middle" (2.7/8) finished as the No. 1 regular program in its half-hour among Adults 18-49, beating the second half-hour of Fox's "Human Target" premiere by 13% (2.4/7) and NBC's "Mercy" by 69% (1.6/5).

� "The Middle" achieved series-high numbers among Adults 18-49 and across each of the key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:30 p.m.)

Surging from its lead-in by 44% at 9:00 p.m. against "American Idol," ABC's "Modern Family" (3.9/11) ranked as the No. 1 scripted show in its half-hour among Adults 18-49 and as Wednesday's No. 1 scripted TV program for the 2nd telecast in a row, ahead of CBS' "Criminal Minds" (3.8/10).

� "Modern Family" was up nicely from its previous airing against "American Idol" (on 1/13/10), growing by 1.4 million viewers (9.2 million vs. 7.8 million) and by 18% in Adults 18-49 (3.9/11 vs. 3.3/8). In addition, although airing against "Idol," the ABC comedy marked a series high with Women 18-34 (4.4/12) for the 2nd consecutive telecast.

"Cougar Town" (9:30-10:01 p.m.)

Airing for the first time against "American Idol," ABC freshman "Cougar Town" finished as the No. 2 scripted show in its half-hour among Viewers (6.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.9/8) to CBS' veteran "Criminal Minds," while placing as the No. 1 scripted show in its slot with Women 18-34 (3.3/9).

ABC won the opening night of the 2010 February Sweep in Adults 18-49 (3.1/9). It was the 5th time in 6 weeks for the Net to rank No. 1 on the night in the key young Adult sales demo, and the 3rd time in the last 4 February Sweeps to top the opening evening.

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:01 p.m.)

Thursday's No. 1 TV show among Adults 18-49, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" (4.5/12) dominated its time slot and stood as the top-rated series on the night for its 12th consecutive original airing this season. Winning the 9 o'clock hour by wide margins over all-original competition, "Grey's" (4.5/12) outdelivered NBC's "The Office"/"30 Rock" combo by 32% (3.4/9), CBS' "CSI" by 41% (3.2/9) and Fox's "Fringe" by 73% (2.6/7). "Grey's" was up over its most-recent original airing with Women 18-34.

"Private Practice" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Private Practice" stood as the No. 1 TV show in Thursday's 10 o'clock hour for its 4th straight original telecast in Adults 18-49 (3.3/10-tie). The ABC sophomore drama beat the combined delivery of CBS ("The Mentalist") and NBC ("Jay Leno") in the slot with Adults 18-34 for its 3rd consecutive original airing (3.3/10 vs. 2.8/9 � CBS and NBC combined).

Friday

ABC's lineup of "Supernanny," "Shark Tank" and "20/20" earned second place on Friday night among Total Viewers (6.2 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.6/5).

� Growing week to week in viewers and young adults, ABC equaled its 2nd-strongest Friday since November in Adults 18-49 � since 11/20/09.

"Supernanny" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Surging 25% week to week, ABC's "Supernanny" took second place in the 8:00 p.m. hour among Adults 18-49 (1.5/5).

� Hitting a season-high, "Supernanny" drew its biggest overall audience (5.4 million) in more than 10 months � since 3/27/09.

"Shark Tank" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

For the 2nd week in a row, ABC's "Shark Tank" outdrew its Fox unscripted competition in the 9 o'clock hour, pulling in 18% more viewers than "Kitchen Nightmares" (4.7 million vs. 4.0 million).

� On its season finale, "Shark Tank" grew 7% week to week and turned in the series' biggest Friday night audience.

"20/20" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's "20/20" finished a strong second in the 10 o'clock hour to CBS' "Num3ers" among Total Viewers and key Adults. Additionally, "20/20" once again beat out its Friday night newsmagazine competition, topping NBC's "Dateline" (9:00-10:00 p.m.) by 2.2 million viewers (8.7 million vs. 6.5 million), by 20% in Adults 18-49 (1.8/6 vs. 1.5/5) and by 20% in Adult 25-54 (2.4/7 vs. 2.0/5). The "Barbara Walters Special" on "20/20" featured an interview with South Carolina's First Lady, Jenny Sanford, during which she discussed how she tried to stay true to herself and her family after husband Governor Mark Sanford disappeared and then revealed his extramarital affair with an Argentinean woman.

� Posting its 3rd straight week of growth and achieving a season high, "20/20" attracted its largest overall audience in nearly 1 year � since 2/13/09.

Source: The Nielsen Company (National Live+Same Day Program Ratings), week of 2/1/10, unless stated otherwise.